''Kasuga Ryūjin'' (春日龍神), or "The Kasuga Dragon God," is a Japanese

Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...

play often attributed to Komparu Zenchiku, son-in-law of

Zeami Motokiyo (c. 1363 – c. 1443), also called , was a Japanese aesthetician, actor, and playwright. His father, Kan'ami Kiyotsugu, introduced him to Noh theater performance at a young age, and found that he was a skilled actor. Kan'ami was also skill ...

. The play features the historical figure Myōe Shōnin (1173 – 1232), abbot of the Buddhist temple

Kōzan-ji , officially , is a Buddhist temple of the Omuro sect of Shingon Buddhism in Umegahata Toganōchō, Ukyō Ward, Kyoto, Japan. Kōzan-ji is also known as Kōsan-ji and Toganō-dera. The temple was founded by the Shingon scholar and monk Myōe ( ...

, and famous for his detailed

dream diary A dream diary (or dream journal) is a diary in which dream experiences are recorded. A dream diary might include a record of nightly dreams, personal reflections and waking dream experiences. It is often used in the study of dreams and psychology. ...

. Myōe sought for many years to visit China and India, and to witness the places where the

historical Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

preached; in episodes recorded in his dream diary and other sources, Myōe is said to have been visited, both in dreams and via oracles, by the Dragon God of

Kasuga Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It is the shrine of the Fujiwara family, established in 768 CE and rebuilt several times over the centuries. The interior is famous for its many bronze lanterns, as well as the many stone lant ...

, who persuaded him to remain in Japan. The play is inspired by and based upon these sources, and relates one such meeting of Myōe with the

Dragon God The Dragon King, also known as the Dragon God, is a Chinese water and weather god. He is regarded as the dispenser of rain, commanding over all bodies of water. He is the collective personification of the ancient concept of the '' lóng'' in Ch ...

Plot

The play opens with Myōe and his companions traveling to Kasuga Shrine to say formal farewells to the ''

kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...

'' of the shrine, before they leave for their journey to China and India. There, they meet a priest, an old man, who welcomes them into the shrine grounds, saying that Myōe is favored by the ''kami'' of the shrine like a first-born son, and that of course he should be most welcome. Learning of Myōe's intentions to journey abroad, however, he argues that the ''kami'' shouldn't like to see him go, as his presence at the shrine is so treasured. The priest goes on to explain that, were the Buddha still living, one would do well to hear him preach in person. But, he says, the ages have turned, and the sacred places of India and China are now represented in Japan. He equates important Buddhist sites such as

Vulture Peak The Vulture Peak (Pali: गिज्झकूट, Sanskrit: गृद्धकूट), also known as the Holy Eagle Peak or Gridhakūta (or Gādhrakūta), was the Buddha's favorite retreat in Rajagaha (now Rajgir, or Rajagrih). It was the scene ...

to sites in Japan, such as

Mount Mikasa , also known as Mount Mikasa (三笠山 ''Mikasa-yama''), is a hill located to the east of Nara Park in the city of Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The mountain's name literally means "young grass". On the fourth Saturday of each January, the d ...

, and encourages Myōe to visit these sacred sites instead. He offers that if Myōe will desist with his plan, he will reveal to the monk, upon Mount Mikasa, the five regions of India, the Buddha's birth, the Buddha's enlightenment, his preaching, and his passing. Convinced, Myōe gives up his intentions to travel to the continent, and asks the old man his name. The priest identifies himself as Tokifū Hideyuki, a name drawn from those of the founders of the Kasuga Shrine, Nakatomi no Tokifū and Nakatomi no Hideyuki, at which he vanishes. Between the two acts of the play, a ''

kyōgen is a form of traditional Japanese comic theater. It developed alongside ''Noh'', was performed along with ''Noh'' as an intermission of sorts between ''Noh'' acts on the same stage, and retains close links to ''Noh'' in the modern day; therefo ...

'' actor portraying a minor ''kami'' in the service of the shrine comes forth and retells the story of the first act. In the second act, the Dragon God of Kasuga (the ''kasuga ryūjin'' of the play's title) appears, and dances, while speaking to Myōe, and confirming that he has in fact given up his intentions to journey to the continent.

References

* Tyler, Royall (ed. & trans.). ''Japanese Nō Dramas''. London:

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Noh plays Buddhist plays Plays set in the 13th century